Scottish Executive

Best Value

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15864 by Peter Peacock on 1 June 2001, how many local authorities are undertaking a rolling programme of Best Value service reviews; which local authorities have developed Public Performance Reporting Frameworks; which local authorities are making information about performance available to those who are recognised stakeholders in their activities, and, for each local authority, who the recognised stakeholders are.

Peter Peacock: All local authorities have voluntarily undertaken a rolling programme of Best Value reviews of all their services and will be or have already publicised the results of these reviews locally. In addition, from April 2000 all local authorities have developed their own Public Performance Reporting framework which makes information about performance available to those who are recognised stakeholders in local authority activities.

  Details of who each local authority consults with are not held centrally. However we do expect authorities to consult with all relevant stakeholders in their area. Who these stakeholders are is for the local authority to determine, although they would be expected to consider the views of all parties who are affected by their decisions.

Best Value

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is given in Best Value service reviews to the contribution of the voluntary sector.

Peter Peacock: One of the core principles of Best Value is the requirement for local authorities to consult with stakeholders where appropriate. Indeed, the Best Value Task Force report, which set out how Best Value should be implemented in Scotland, stated that effective consultation is essential to the success of Best Value and that local authorities should ensure that all relevant stakeholders are consulted. This includes the voluntary sector where they make a significant contribution to service delivery or where they are one of the local authorities key partners.

Best Value

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10707 by Peter Peacock on 10 November 2000, whether it is now able to give a definition of Best Value.

Peter Peacock: As I announced in Parliament in May of this year, we are in the process of drafting legislative proposals for consultation in autumn 2001. These proposals will include a statutory definition of Best Value.

Central Heating

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioners in each local authority area meet the eligibility criteria for the central heating initiative.

Jackie Baillie: There are an estimated 40,000 pensioners in the private sector who meet the eligibility criteria for the central heating initiative. A further 23,000 tenants of local authorities and over 6,000 housing association tenants will also benefit and it is anticipated that half of this number will be pensioners.

Education

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that there are a number of part-time courses in teaching available in the rest of the UK and how it will address the lack of any funded, accredited part-time courses for qualification in teaching in Scotland.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Department for Education and Skills has introduced various routes into teacher education in England and Wales, including part-time courses. The introduction of such courses is aimed at dealing with acute teacher supply difficulties experienced there. The position in Scotland is rather different. The Supply of Teachers report, 2nd Edition - June 2001, details the background to the current position on teacher supply and outlines progress on planned improvements to teacher workforce planning practices. Copies of the report are in the Parliament’s reference centre (Bib. no. 14980) and it is on the Executive’s website.

  I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-16892 on 10 August and that institutions are able to offer any course on a part-time basis provided it meets the requirements set out in the Guidelines for Initial Teacher Education in Scotland as in the answer to question S1W-16022 on 13 June 2001.

Education

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the purpose is of Individualised Educational Programmes and what relationship they will have with Records of Needs.

Nicol Stephen: Individualised Educational Programmes (IEP) and Records of Needs are separate planning documents to meet the needs of children with special educational needs (SEN).

  Where a child has a Record of Needs, it is expected that the Record will provide the strategic content from which an IEP can be prepared. The IEP outlines the more detailed steps to be taken to enable children with SEN to achieve specified targets. It underpins the day to day teaching and learning process by which a child’s special educational needs can be addressed.

  The Record of Needs is a legal document – the IEP is less formal. The current review "Assessing Our Children’s Educational Needs: The Way Forward" will look at the role of the Record of Needs and IEPs.

Electricity

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what penalties will be applied if electricity suppliers do not achieve the target of meeting 18% of electricity demand from renewable sources by 2010.

Rhona Brankin: Licensed electricity suppliers who are unable, or who fail, to meet the targets imposed under the forthcoming Renewables Obligation (Scotland) will be required to pay a buy-out charge on every unit of shortfall during each period of the Obligation.

  Full details of our proposals for the paying and recycling of buy-out charges are contained in the current statutory consultation on the Renewables Obligation (Scotland); the relevant material is available in the Parliament’s reference centre.

Electricity

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish electricity suppliers are on track to meet the 2010 target of 18% of electrical energy being supplied by renewable sources.

Rhona Brankin: The statutory consultation on the Renewables Obligation (Scotland), which was published on 3 August, contains proposals for a significant expansion in Scotland’s use of renewable energy; the consultation material is available in the Parliament’s reference centre. We are confident that our policies to exploit Scotland’s very considerable potential for renewable energy, coupled with the new markets for renewable energy equipment that these policies are creating, will energise Scottish electricity suppliers to deliver the additional renewable energy required to meet our objectives.

Flood Prevention

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the future funding of flood prevention and coast protection schemes by local authorities is accounted for in the grant allocations set out in Table 10.6 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive and whether it will provide a breakdown by local authority of what these funding needs are.

Rhona Brankin: Table 10.6 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report shows the overall provision made for flood prevention and coast protection grants to local authorities, taking account of their needs, over the period 2001-04.

  We are, in general, aware of the likely funding needs of local authorities for flood prevention and coast protection works. However, it is only when authorities take schemes forward on a formal basis and make grant applications, that the Executive is able to consider funding requests. Accordingly, it is not possible to provide a definitive breakdown of the individual needs of authorities for future years.

Flood Prevention

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown by (a) local authority and (b) scheme of the funding being made available for flood prevention and coast protection in (i) 2001-02, (ii) 2002-03 and (iii) 2003-04 as shown in table 10.6 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive .

Rhona Brankin: Table 10.6 of the Annual Expenditure Report shows the overall provision made for flood prevention and coast protection grants to local authorities over the period 2001­04. Distribution of these funds is dependent on which schemes local authorities decide to take forward and on the associated grant claims made.

  To date in the current year grants (five payments in total) have been paid to Perth and Kinross Council for the Bridge of Earn Flood Prevention Scheme (£126,000), to Renfrewshire Council for the Moredun Flood Prevention Scheme (£49,000) and to Aberdeenshire Council for the Stonehaven Coast Protection Scheme (£12,000). We do not have the necessary information from local authorities to enable us to provide a breakdown for the balance of this year or future years.

Flood Prevention

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its target of making 95% of flood prevention and coast protection scheme grant offers within six weeks as stated in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive is being achieved.

Rhona Brankin: The target of 95% is being achieved. For year 2000-01 and to date in this financial year the Executive has made all grant offers for flood prevention and coast protection schemes within six weeks of the relevant information being available.

Flood Prevention

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its target of confirming/approving 95% of flood prevention and coast protection schemes within three months, as referred to in chapter 10 of The Scottish Budget: Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive , is being achieved.

Rhona Brankin: The target of 95% is being achieved. For year 2000-01 and to date in this financial year the Executive has confirmed/approved all flood prevention and coast protection schemes within three months of information being available.

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many operations were performed on a day surgery basis in hospitals in the Greater Glasgow Health Board area in each of the last three years.

Susan Deacon: The following table shows the total number of operations performed in Greater Glasgow on a day surgery basis 1 during the years 1997-98 to 1999-2000. It also shows the number of "principal" operations performed in Greater Glasgow on a day surgery basis 1 during the same time period.

  


Year 
  

Total Number of Operations2


Number of Principal Operations 
  



1997-98 
  

95,217 
  

81,929 
  



1998-99 
  

100,862 
  

87,823 
  



1999-2000 
  

98,926 
  

86,548 
  



  Notes:

  1. The information shown is based on patients treated as day cases in NHS hospitals in Greater Glasgow Health Board area. Patients who received an operation in an out-patient setting are excluded as this information is not held centrally.

  2. Includes any secondary or other operations during the same episode of care.

Health

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many in-patient operations were performed in the Greater Glasgow Health Board area in each of the last three years.

Susan Deacon: The following table shows the total number of operations performed in Greater Glasgow on an in-patient basis 1 during the years 1997-98 to 1999-2000. It also shows the number of "principal" operations performed in Greater Glasgow on an in-patient basis 1 during the same time period.

  


Year 
  

Total Number of Operations2


Number of Principal Operations 
  



1997-98 
  

152,649 
  

107,633 
  



1998-99 
  

160,805 
  

110,976 
  



1999-2000 
  

152,914 
  

105,816 
  



  Notes:

  1. The information shown is based on patients treated as in-patients in NHS hospitals in Greater Glasgow health board area.

  2. Includes any secondary or other operations during the same episode of care.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the first supplementary question to question S1O-3585 by Susan Deacon on 14 June 2001, what guidance and procedures have been issued to education authorities in relation to prescribing the morning-after pill.

Mr Jack McConnell: No specific guidance has been issued to education authorities on emergency contraception or the morning-after pill, since the Executive is aware that there are no current plans to introduce the supply of the pill by school nurses.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is regarding the use of the revenue from the sale of psychiatric hospitals.

Susan Deacon: Current guidelines indicate that the proceeds from the sale of psychiatric hospitals, like the proceeds from all other NHSScotland properties, should be fully reinvested in improving patient care.

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much revenue has been received from the sale of psychiatric hospitals since May 1999, broken down by health board area.

Susan Deacon: The following table sets out the resources achieved from the sale of psychiatric hospitals and parts of the sites of such hospitals since May 1999, as at 31 July 2001.

  


Health Board Area 
  

£ million 
  



Borders 
  

1.325 
  



Forth Valley 
  

0.250 
  



Grampian 
  

0.750 
  



Highland 
  

0.750 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

1.400 
  



Tayside 
  

0.847

Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which psychiatric hospitals have been sold since May 1999.

Susan Deacon: The following table sets out the psychiatric hospitals and parts of such hospital sites that have been sold since May 1999, as at 31 July 2001.

  


Health Board Area 
  
 



Borders 
  

Dingleton Hospital, Melrose 
  



Forth Valley 
  

Bellsdyke Hospital, Larbert 
  



Grampian 
  

Daviot Hospital, Aberdeen 
  



Highland 
  

Part disposal of Craig Dunain Hospital, Inverness 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

Part of Leverndale Hospital site, Glasgow 
  



Tayside 
  

Part disposals - no entire hospital has been sold:
Windyridge House, Strathmartine Hospital, Dundee
7 Westmount, Sunnyside Hospital, Montrose
11 Westmount, Sunnyside Hospital, Montrose
Murray House Murray Royal Hospital, Perth
Field ‘D’ Murray Royal Hospital, Perth
2&3 Dudhope Terrace, Dundee

Historic Sites

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to assess any damage done to archaeological sites in Scotland as a result of land cover changes in recent decades following Scottish Natural Heritage’s analysis of these changes as part of the National Countryside Monitoring Scheme.

Allan Wilson: I have asked Graeme Munro, chief executive of Historic Scotland to answer. His response is as follows:

  Historic Scotland began monitoring the condition of all scheduled ancient monuments in 1986. A team of 11 part-time locally based staff visits these sites on a cyclical pattern and records their condition and the surrounding land use on a central database. Over 7,000 sites of national importance are currently monitored in this manner. There are no plans to extend monitoring to unscheduled archaeological sites.

Homelessness

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it has undertaken into homelessness and rough sleeping among armed service veterans.

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many former armed forces personnel are at present homeless in Scotland.

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether ex-servicemen are, or will be, a priority category for housing by local authorities.

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings it has had with the Ministry of Defence and the Homelessness Task Force regarding the resettlement of former services personnel.

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met representatives of the Army Benevolent Fund, the British Legion and SSAFA Forces Help to discuss issues relating to the resettlement of ex-servicemen.

Jackie Baillie: The Homelessness Task Force, which I chair, is considering, amongst other things, the need for improved housing provision, advice and support for the resettlement of people leaving institutions, including the armed forces. The task force has been collecting evidence on ways to improve assistance to vulnerable service personnel prior to discharge, at the point of discharge, and after discharge.

  There are no firm figures on the number of people with armed forces’ experience who are presently homeless. There is however clear evidence that a significant proportion of homeless men have had a career in the services. In Scotland, the National Monitoring and Interim Evaluation study of the Rough Sleepers Initiative showed that 13% of people using RSI services had past experience of the armed forces. In England, it is estimated that between a fifth and a quarter of rough sleepers have been in the services at some point in their lives.

  Currently DD Circular 26/1993 provides guidance to local authorities on housing for people leaving the armed forces. This circular encourages local authorities to give fair and sympathetic consideration to applications for housing from ex-service personnel. (A copy of the circular has been placed in the Parliament’s reference centre.) The Code of Guidance on Homelessness also identifies people recently discharged from institutions as potentially vulnerable, and therefore in priority need.

  The Homelessness Task Force is examining improvements in the definition of priority need categories including its extension to include vulnerable ex-service personnel. This would be in line with proposals in England.

  The task force will be setting out its key recommendations in its report at the end of this year. It will be seeking support from the Ministry of Defence, the Armed Forces and its Resettlement Services, and the ex-service benevolent sector for these recommendations.

NHS Trusts

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the appointment of a new chairperson of Yorkhill NHS Trust will be announced.

Susan Deacon: The appointment of Sally Kuenssberg as chairperson of the Yorkhill NHS Trust was announced on 27 July 2001.

Roads

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the work on the resurfacing of the southbound carriageway of the A90 before the Stonehaven slip road will commence.

Sarah Boyack: Resurfacing of the A90 carriageway north of Stonehaven will be starting shortly and will be completed before the end of August, ahead of the major maintenance scheme on the northbound carriageway at Cannochmore, which is programmed to start in September this year.

Rural Development

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications under the Rural Stewardship Scheme were made in the current financial year to its Environment and Rural Affairs Department; what this year’s budget provision is; what the estimated total cost of all the applications is; how the applications will be prioritised, and what plans it has to increase the available budget or to give a degree of priority to schemes from farms within areas directly affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Ross Finnie: The number of applications submitted for approval this year is 476. These applications have a total cost of £28.5 million. The total agri-environment budget for the current financial year is £30 million, subject to sterling/euro currency fluctuations. As set out in the scheme literature, applications will be prioritised on the basis of the extent to which they will contribute to achievement of international and national conservation objectives and to local priorities for biodiversity. Agri-environment expenditure is planned to increase year on year up to £37 million in 2006. There are no plans to give additional priority to schemes from farms within areas directly affected by the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Rural Development

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to increase resources for the Rural Stewardship Scheme in future financial years.

Ross Finnie: Agri-environment expenditure is planned to increase year on year up to £37 million in 2006.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Scheme

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends seeking the approval of the Parliament regarding its proposals for making ex-gratia payments to pensioners out of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes’ surplus.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive expects to bring forward the Scottish Transport Group Dissolution Order for the Scottish Parliament’s consideration in the autumn.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Scheme

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish details of its proposals for making ex-gratia payments to pensioners out of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes’ surplus.

Sarah Boyack: Details of the proposals with regard to potential beneficiaries and the basis of distribution of ex-gratia payments to former Scottish Transport Group Pension Scheme members will be provided when the Executive brings forward the Scottish Transport Group Dissolution Order for the Scottish Parliament’s consideration.

Student Grants

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what evidence the statement "This autumn a poor Scottish student will have £1000 more to live on than a new student in 1979" by the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning in Scotland on Sunday on 1 July 2001 is based.

Ms Wendy Alexander: A young Scottish student starting a full-time course in Scotland from this month will have access to a total maintenance package of grant and loan worth £4,315, where their family income is £15,000 or below. Up to £2,000 of this support will be payable as bursary. It may be supplemented in individual cases by supplementary grants and payments from Hardship Funds. In 1979, the full maintenance grant was £1,100 or £3,361 at current prices.

Voluntary Sector

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what implications the review of voluntary sector law and regulation by the Performance and Innovation Unit, announced by the Prime Minister on 3 July 2001, will have for Scotland.

Jackie Baillie: The Performance and Innovation Unit review will consider how the regulatory and legal framework could better enable voluntary organisations to thrive and grow; encourage the development of new types of organisations where needed; and ensure public confidence. The review will therefore touch on both reserved and devolved matters. We have established contact with the review team and will consider any implications their findings may have for devolved matters in due course.

Waste Disposal

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to allow more waste incinerators to be constructed in Scotland and, if so, where these incinerators will be located.

Sarah Boyack: Following adoption in 1999 of the National Waste Strategy: Scotland, 11 Area Waste Plans are being developed across Scotland to identify the best ways of dealing with waste and to identify the waste management facilities required.

  As with other development proposals, planning applications for waste incinerators will be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Although the National Waste Strategy and Area Waste Plan are not land use planning documents, they are material considerations that decision makers should take into account when making development control decisions or preparing their development plans.

  We will be publishing a Planning Advice Note on planning for waste management facilities by the end of this year. The PAN will both guide development plan policy formulation and inform development control decisions.

Waste Management

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all grants to local authorities from the Strategic Waste Fund are ring fenced for use only on Area Waste Plans (AWP), what grant funding is available in the current financial year, broken down by AWP, and which projects are currently being funded.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive has allocated £50.4 million over three years (£4.2 million in 2001-02, £16 million and £30.2 million) to the Strategic Waste Fund for local authorities to begin to implement the National Waste Strategy. The funds are available for authorities to implement their part of the Area Waste Plans (AWP) which are currently being prepared. No specific allocation of funds has been made yet in support of any specific AWP. To date, no applications for funding have been received from local authorities as the Area Waste Plans are not yet complete, although an initial £3 million was distributed between all authorities in 2000-01 to assist with recycling and composting projects.

Water Industry

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of Scotland’s drinking water and waste water treatment works have been built using PPP and PFI finance.

Ross Finnie: No Water Treatment Works have been built using PPP and PFI.

  Nine contracts have been signed for Waste Water Treatment Works which have been or are being constructed using PFI/PPP.

Water Services

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish water and sewerage service meets UK and EC statutory requirements.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is committed to ensuring that the Scottish water authorities meet statutory requirements. The authorities have achieved a very high level of compliance, and where problems remain, urgent action is being taken to address them.

  Achieving compliance is an on-going process. The water quality and standards process put in place by the Executive, in consultation with the Water Industry Commissioner, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Scottish water authorities, outlines the environment and drinking water standards (including UK and EU statutory requirements) the water authorities must meet and estimates the investment required to meet them.

  Water Quality and Standards, Investment Requirements for Scotland’s Water Authorities 2000-2002 (Q & S 1) is available in the Parliament’s reference centre (Bib. no. 8483).

  A copy of the consultation paper on Water Quality and Standards 2002-2006 is available in the Parliament’s reference centre (Bib. no. 14923). A copy of Water Quality and Standards, Investment Requirements for Scotland’s Water Authorities 2002-2006 (Q & S 2) will also be available shortly in the Parliament’s reference centre.